Conservation or Exploitation? The Two Faces of Ocean Governance

UN member countries adopted the first treaty designed to protect life in the high seas, which will allow the establishment of marine protected areas in international waters. Meanwhile, deep-sea mining companies are pushing to begin mineral exploitation activities in the seabed, which according to specialists could lead to permanent biodiversity loss. 

The High Seas Treaty offers an updated framework to the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas that came into force in 1994. According to Leticia Carvalho, Head of the Marine and Freshwater Branch, UNEP, the new agreement provides a legal basis for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas. “The treaty puts a new framework in place to address marine resource conservation, sustainable use and management, while offering new governance tools and institutional mechanisms for decision-making and equitable benefit sharing,” she said in a UN interview. 

The adoption of the treaty took place by consensus, without the need for a vote, which concluded negotiations at the UN. However, the agreement will not be enforced until at least 60 countries have signed and ratified it, which has raised concerns among UN representatives. 

António Guterres, Secretary General, UN, urged governments not to delay the process. "This is essential to address the threats faced by the ocean and for the success of the ocean-related goals of the 2030 Agenda," he said. Likewise, Carvalho pointed out that it took 12 years for the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas to be ratified. “Let’s hope it does not take that long for this treaty. The oceans cannot wait,” she stressed. The document will be open for signature at the UN headquarters in New York starting on Sept. 20, 2023. 

On the other hand, there has been a growing interest in exploiting the mineral deposits of the seabed over the past few years, which according to specialists could lead to an environmental catastrophe. Supporters of this initiative claim that mineral deposits are depleting on land, so we need to seek for new alternatives. Minerals such as copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, lithium and cobalt are used to produce smartphones, wind turbines, solar panels and batteries and all of these can be found in great quantities under the seabed. 

A recent study by Planet Tracker revealed that sea mining could cause biodiversity loss up to 25 times greater than land-based mining. The study highlighted that the price for ecosystem restoration could reach between US$5.3 million and $5.7 million/km2, compared to the US$2.7 million/km2 that would cost to mine the submarine deposits, which makes the operation unaffordable. “That is more than the revenue a typical company would make from mining," François Mosnier, Head of Oceans Programme, Planet Tracker, noted. 

By May 2022, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which regulates activities in the seabed beyond national jurisdiction, had issued 31 contracts to explore deep-sea mineral deposits. Currently ISA is developing regulations to govern the transition from exploration to exploitation activities. The organism is expected to decide on regulations by July 2023.